Influence of polyether polyol on the hydration and engineering properties of calcium sulfoaluminate cement

The aim of the present paper was to investigate the efficiency of polyether polyol as shrinkage-reducing admixture on pastes and mortars prepared with calcium sulfoaluminate cement (CSA). CSA was prepared by mixing CSA clinker and re-crystallized gypsum in different proportions. Three types of polyether polyol were added at a dosage of 1.5 wt% of CSA when hydrating pure pastes and standard mortars. The engineering properties of mortars (compressive strength, drying shrinkage) and the microstructure of pastes were investigated. The results show that polyol reduces drying shrinkage of CSA-based mortars without affecting the nature of hydrates formed. The effect of polyol mainly depends on its molecular weight.